One guy remarked how I had a front-row seat overlooking the marina. The R2AK participants began flowing in today and I had a great time meeting the people and looking at the boats.
This will be the third R2AK. The first year it didn’t attract much attention. Last year it got the attention of a lot of people. Now, understand that the race organizers are extreme professional hypers, cleverly and humorously pushing their idea.
So it was no surprise a few minutes ago that one boat that did fairly well last year came into the marina ostentatiously decorated straight into their reserved slip at the primo part of the marina. I’m expecting a couple more like it tomorrow.
It seems to me it’s a bit over the top to celebrate a sailing team that took twice as long to finish than the winner, 6 days versus 3 days.
Usually, in sailboat racing, you can handicap the race by looking at the boat and crew and past performances. What matters in this event is weather and luck.
I am impressed with the number of teams consisting solely of women. Back in my racing days, girls would be good as crew, provided they cooked.
Meanwhile, it’s the hottest day of the year, but the start of the race looks like rain.